Page 140 of Promises in the Dark

No time to celebrate. Two more took his place, coming at me from both sides. I ducked under a wild haymaker, feeling the whoosh of air as it passed over my head.

Springing up, I drove my elbow into his throat. He went down gagging, but his buddy caught me with a solid shot to the ribs.

Pain exploded through my side. Fuck, that hurt. But pain was good. Pain meant I was still alive.

I retaliated with a vicious headbutt, feeling cartilage crunch as I connected with the bastard’s nose. He stumbled back, hands clasped to his face, blood seeping between his fingers. I followed up with a brutal right cross that sent him sprawling.

But we were losing ground. For every one we put down, two more seemed to take their place. We were being pushed back, corralled like cattle for slaughter.

A bullet whizzed past my ear, so close I felt the heat of its passage.

“Taking fire!” I roared, ducking behind the smoldering wreckage of our vehicle. “Find cover!”

The others scrambled to comply, but our options were limited. We were in the open, exposed, with hostiles on all sides. This wasn’t a fight anymore. It was a goddamn execution.

I popped up, squeezing off a few rounds. Two tangos went down, but it was a drop in the ocean. We were running out of ammo, out of options, out of fucking luck.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pyro wrestling with one of the fuckers, the two of them grappling for control of a rifle. Instinct kicked in—I charged, grabbed the asshole from behind, and threw him to the ground. Pyro didn’t hesitate—he grabbed his knife and jammed it into the guy’s throat, blood spraying everywhere as the body hit the dirt.

“Thanks, man,” Pyro grunted, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Don’t thank me yet,” I muttered, scanning the area.

We were still surrounded, and the numbers were against us.

A sharp cry of pain cut through the air, and my heart fucking stopped. I spun around, eyes locking on Red. One of the assholes had her pinned, his hand around her throat, the other holding a knife to her side. Rage like I’d never felt before exploded inside me.

“Get your hands off her!” I screamed, charging at him with everything I had.

I didn’t even feel the punches as I slammed my fist into his face, again and again. Blood coated my knuckles, but I didn’t stop until he was on the ground, unconscious or dead—I didn’t care which.

I pulled Red to her feet, my chest heaving with the effort. “You okay?” I rasped, my voice rough.

She nodded, her eyes wide with shock. “Yeah,” she croaked, barely holding it together. “Thanks.”

“Stay close to me,” I growled, turning my attention back to the fight.

Things weren’t getting any better—more of them were closing in, and we were running on fumes. We couldn’t hold them off forever.

As I moved to rejoin my team, I spotted something—more movement, coming from the edge of the village. Reinforcements. My stomach twisted, dread pooling in my gut. If they reached us, we were done for.

“Fuck this,” I muttered, looking around for any way out.

But there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. We were trapped, outnumbered, and running on empty.

This was it.

Chapter 37

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leaders didn’t show fear, even when they were scared shitless.

“Drop your weapons!” one of the insurgents yelled in some shitty, broken English. “Now!”

We had no choice. The sound of our guns hitting the dirt felt like our own fucking death bells ringing. They quickly patted us down, stripping away everything—guns, gear.

I winced as a particularly zealous bastard wrenched my arms behind my back, binding them tight enough to cut off circulation.

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